THE FLORIDA Gators have remained unbeaten this NCAAM basketball season after holding off the North Carolina Tar Heels to claim their 11th win of 2024 at Spectrum Centre on Wednesday morning.

The Gators came into the clash as one of the form teams in college basketball, and were favourites against an inconsistent Tar Heels outfit that had claimed six wins and four losses throughout their first 10 games of action.

The game went to plan in the first half for Florida, taking a 12-point lead into the main break and constantly looking a step ahead of the opposition for the first 20 minutes. However, North Carolina lifted in the second half, and made things very interesting with enough time on the clock to produce a heroic comeback. It failed to eventuate, with the Gators doing enough to claim a six-point win and remain undefeated from 11 games.

With that in mind, Rookie Me Central will be casting an eye over how the key players performed in the match, as some of the NCAAM’s best and brightest display their craft on a nightly basis.

Florida Gators (90) def. North Carolina Tar Heels (84)

Florida:

#5 Will Richard

The leading scorer for the Gators in the win, Richard helped Florida gain early scoreboard ascendancy and was a crucial factor in the result. The Senior guard was immense to start the game, knocking down three triples in the first five and a half minutes to help the Gators open up a 10-point lead early on. He changed his scoring mindset from there, switching things up to become much more focussed on scoring the ball inside, which proved to be a winning tactic. He finished the game with a team-high 22 points on an extremely efficient 8/10 shooting from the field, and was a standout for the victors.

#15 Alijah Martin

Although inefficient, Martin still managed to come up with some big baskets for the Gators and play a key role for a winning side. Pairing well in the backcourt with Richard, the guard was always looking to create scoring opportunities for Florida and showed a constant desire to find the bottom of the net. Martin was more of a passer in the first half, but looked to find his own shot in the final 20 minutes. He shot 5/17 from the field and 2/12 from deep but still worked his way to 19 points, five rebounds and four assists for the match and was an absolute workhorse for the entire contest.

#21 Alex Condon

The Aussie almost posted a double-double as he stuffed the stat sheet for the Gators in a thrilling win on Wednesday. Condon may not have been the most impactful scorer, but he was willing to do whatever it took to get his side over the line. The forward was everywhere for the winning side, posting nine points on 2/4 shooting from the field, with both of those being three-pointers while also adding three points from the charity stripe. Condon also pulled down 10 rebounds, dished out five assists and swatted three North Carolina shots in an excellent all-around effort from the exciting talent.

North Carolina

#4 RJ Davis

Far and away the standout for the Tar Heels in a tough loss, Davis helped North Carolina fight back from a 17-point deficit to draw within two points late in the piece. Despite the Tar Heels falling behind in the first half, the guard was still firing on the offensive end, posting 13 points of his team’s 34 points in the first 20 minutes of the match. He continued that hard work in the second half, helping spark the comeback with his willingness to spark the team on the offensive side of things. He honed in on his mid-range shot in the final 10 minutes of the game, and had the chance to give his side the lead in the final minute of the game, but his three-pointer was wayward. In the end, he finished with 29 points (10/19 FG), eight rebounds, four steals and an assist in a tremendous showing from the Senior.